Center for Disease Analysis Foundation Awards Second Round of Grants for the CDAF-Relink Program

As part of the ongoing CDAF-Relink program to reconnect US-based individuals infected with hepatitis C (HCV) or hepatitis B (HBV) to care, the Center for Disease Analysis Foundation (CDA Foundation) is pleased to announce 1.8 million dollars in the second round of grants. The following 11 organizations are beneficiaries:

"This award will allow us to add a Re-Engagement Specialist to our team," stated Cody Shafer-Fritz, Lead Prevention Services Coordinator at Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. "The person in this role will work to connect individuals to treatment in a variety of settings throughout Iowa HHS's existing partnerships. Treatment is a core strategy of our efforts to end the HCV epidemic in Iowa. We look forward to increasing our capacity to support the health and well-being of Iowans impacted by HCV."

The CDAF-Relink program is sponsored by an eight-million-dollar grant from Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) as part of Gilead's Relink grant program. Around the world, relink programs have shown success in reconnecting HCV and HBV infected individuals to care. Challenges remain, nonetheless, the main ones being identifying infected individuals based on available medical records, successfully contacting them, and navigating personal and institutional barriers to care. Building on the successes and lessons learned from the ongoing efforts of round one grantees, round two and subsequent rounds will continue to implement evidence-based approaches, leveraging successful interventions and data collection models, while emphasizing knowledge and resource sharing.

"Hepatitis B and C infections are now the leading cause of death globally among all infectious diseases, and we have all the tools to eliminate these infections in the United States," commented Homie Razavi, the Managing Director of CDA Foundation. "Loss of diagnosed but untreated patients is a major public health barrier in the U.S. to achieving the viral hepatitis elimination targets. Our second round of grantees will work with general and marginalized populations to link an estimated 5,400 diagnosed but untreated HCV and HBV infected individuals back into physicians' care. We are grateful for all 25 applicants who took the time to submit a grant and will work with the organizations who were not funded to update their proposals for the next round of funding."

The call for round three proposals will open in August 2024 with proposals from state health agencies given a priority. For more information, please visit https://cdafound.org/relink or contact the CDAF-Relink program at [email protected].

About Center for Disease Analysis Foundation

CDA Foundation is a non-profit organization that seeks to help eliminate HBV and HCV globally by 2030 by providing countries across the world with verified epidemiological data, disease burden and economic impact modeling, smart intervention strategies, access to affordable diagnostics and treatments, innovative financing, and knowledge-sharing partnerships to eliminate these deadly infections. It works with more than 110 countries globally and 26 US states on their viral hepatitis elimination programs. CDA Foundation is headquartered in Lafayette.

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